Following a concussion, you may experience dizziness, vertigo, and unsteadiness with walking and activity due to the impact to your head. In this blog, we are going to talk about how your vestibular system is affected after concussion and how physical therapy can help with your recovery.
The vestibular system helps to detect our heads position and movement in space and allows for the coordination of eye movements, posture, and equilibrium.
The information that keeps us upright and oriented in space can be delayed between the vestibular system and the brain due to head trauma. Information can also be processed and sent incorrectly to the brain when the inner ear crystals become dislodged during the trauma. This can cause a spinning sensation with head movements. It can take weeks to months for your brain to adapt and heal following a concussion.
Physical therapy can help speed up the recovery and healing process with the use of interventions such as balance training, gaze and eye movement training, vestibular system training, or through corrective procedures to clear the dislodged crystals from unwanted areas of the vestibular system.
Our goal is to help those with a concussion recover fully and return to their normal sports, hobbies, and or activities without limitation. If you or someone you know are experiencing dizziness, vertigo, and/or unsteadiness with walking and activity following a concussion, vestibular physical therapy is for you.
